Headlines about "Medicare and Medicaid"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Annual Statistical Supplement, 2011, Published by the U.S. Social Security Administration
"The Supplement is a major resource for data on our nation's social insurance and welfare programs. The majority of the statistical tables present information about programs administered by the Social Security Administration -- the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program, known collectively as Social Security, and the Supplemental Security Income program. In addition, data are presented on the major health care programs -- Medicare and Medicaid -- and social insurance programs, including workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, temporary disability insurance, Black Lung benefits, and veterans' benefits. The Supplement also includes program summaries and legislative histories that help users of the data understand these programs." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Congressional Budget Office Expects Health Spending to Double in Ten Years
"CBO's economic outlook predicts that federal spending on Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare programs will climb to $1.8 trillion -- or about 7 percent of the entire economy -- by 2022." (The Hill)
Government Health Spending Seen Hitting $1.8 Trillion
"[R]esearchers warned that the longer term prospects for rising healthcare spending could have dire consequences for the U.S. deficit when combined with the cost of Social Security, if current revenue levels remain unchanged." (Reuters)
[Opinion] Aging Groups Argue That Most Health Reform Law Provisions Affecting Seniors Should Not Be Tied To Supreme Court's Ruling on Individual Mandate (PDF)
"The [recently filed amicus] brief . . . highlights the parts of the ACA that greatly benefit people aged 65 and older that should not be affected should the Court decide to invalidate the minimum coverage provision, including: Reduced cost-sharing for Medicare beneficiaries for prescription drugs by substantially reducing the coverage gap or so-called donut hole; Elimination of cost-sharing for annual wellness visits and other screening services; Medicare Advantage plans are prevented from charging higher cost-sharing for chemotherapy and dialysis than permitted under traditional Medicare . . . ." (National Senior Citizens Law Center)
Downgrades in Ratings Loom for G20 Nations on Health Costs, S&P Warns
"Ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned it may downgrade 'a number of highly rated' Group of 20 countries from 2015 if their governments fail to enact reforms to curb rising healthcare spending and other costs related to ageing populations." (Reuters)
Increasing Retirement Ages Would Reduce Spending and Limit Benefits
"The Congressional Budget Office released on Jan. 11 an issue brief describing the effect of increases in the eligibility ages for Social Security and Medicare. The CBO found that raising the Medicare eligibility age or the early or full eligibility age for Social Security would reduce federal spending and limit the number of people with access to health insurance." (AdvisorOne)
[Opinion] Fitness Memberships and Favorable Selection in Medicare Advantage Plans
"This study further confirms what we have known all along - that private insurers selectively market to the healthy, further cushioning their profits by being paid at rates for those with only average health." (Physicians for a National Health Program)
[Official Guidance] HHS Final Rule: Payments to Sponsors of Retiree Prescription Drug Plans (PDF)
"This final rule implements and finalizes provisions regarding thereporting of gross covered retiree plan-related prescription drug costs (gross retiree costs) and retained rebates by Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) sponsors; and the scope of our waiver authority under the Social Security Act . . . . DATES: Effective Date: These regulationsare effective on March 12, 2012." (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)
CBO Issue Brief: Raising the Ages of Eligibility for Medicare and Social Security
"This issue brief reviews how ages of eligibility affect beneficiaries under current law and how delaying eligibility would affect beneficiaries, the federal budget, and the economy." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
New York City's New Ad Campaign Attacks Big Food Portions
"About 57% of adult New Yorkers and two out of every five elementary school children remain overweight, while nearly 10% of New Yorkers have been diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes, according to the agency." (Crain Communications, Inc.)
Understanding the Three Main Pillars That Create the Foundation for Retirement in the U.S.
"The Three Pillars: In our opinion, those pillars consist of Medicare, Social Security and Retirement Plans. Each of these pillars is complex in its own right." (Seeking Alpha)
[Guidance Overview] 2012 Payroll Tax Rates and Limits (PDF)
"The maximum [Social Security Employee] withholding for the period January 1, 2012, to February 29, 2012, is $770.70 (calculated at 4.2% ofmaximum wage base). The maximum withholding for the period March 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012, if the payroll tax holiday is not extended, is $5,688.50 (calculated at 6.2% of maximum wage base). The sum of $770.70 and $5,688.50 is $6,459.20." (Lindquist LLP)
The Independent Payment Advisory Board: In 2013, this Entity Will Have Authority to Curb Medicare Spending If Growth Exceeds Targets
"Arguments for and against IPAB hinge on several key issues -- including the degree to which decisions about saving money in Medicare are so political that they should be made outside the context of the day-to-day operations of Congress. The arguments don't necessarily correspond with divisions between the political parties, because Democrats are divided on their support for IPAB. The brief concludes that IPAB's unclear fate will likely be determined by the Supreme Court's decision on the ACA or the outcome of the 2012 elections." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Plan to Overhaul Medicare
"A Democratic senator, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and a Republican member of the House, Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, unveiled a bipartisan plan on Wednesday to revamp Medicare and make a fixed federal contribution to the cost of coverage for each beneficiary." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Final Regs and Removal of Temporary Regs for Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return and Modifications to Deposit Rules (PDF)
"This document contains final regulations relating to the Employers'Annual Federal Tax Program (the Form 944 Program) and the requirements fordepositing social security, Medicare, and withheld Federal income taxes(collectively ''employment taxes'')." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
GOP Alternative Proposal: Wealthy Pay Full Price for Medicare to Cover Payroll Tax Extension
"The Senate Republican plan would instead pay for the costs by making spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget and requiring the rich to do without government aid." (Los Angeles Times)
[Guidance Overview] ADEA Exemption for Coordination of Health Benefits with Medicare Does Not Permit Employer To Terminate Current Employees' Benefits
"The ADEA provisions notwithstanding, Medicare law requires that employers who are subject to the Medicare as secondary payer (MSP) rules provide the same group health plan coverage to workers and their dependents who have Medicare coverage as they provide for other workers and their dependents who are not Medicare-covered." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
Social Security Applications in Spanish Now Available on Website
"To make the process easier for Spanish speakers with limited English skills, the Social Security Administration has translated the applications for the following benefits: Retirement benefits . . . . Medicare benefits . . . . Prescription drugs benefits . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)
Restructuring Medicare's Benefit Design: Implications for Beneficiaries and Spending
"Several deficit-reduction plans have proposed combining Medicare's separate deductibles for hospital and physician services, standardizing cost sharing across types of benefits, and establishing a new limit on annual out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries. A new Kaiser Family Foundation study examines the potential implications of proposals to revamp Medicare's cost-sharing requirements as a way of reducing federal spending." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Medicare Savings by Raising Eligibility Age Could Be a Mirage
"In addition, health care reform -- assuming that it is not repealed and is implemented smoothly in 2014 -- adds a new element to the argument about eligibility age. Without reform, many people ages 65 to 67 would have trouble finding affordable insurance -- or any insurance at all." (POLITICO LLC)
The links shown above have been gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com. Each article's publisher is shown above in parentheses. Opinions expressed in each article are those of the article's publisher, not necessarily those of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. or any web site that displays these headlines in a "frame." You should contact the listed publisher for copyright information about any particular article or to inquire into the right to use the article in any manner.